Lou’s View

By Lou Bernard

“Hey, you’re that history guy, right? Let me ask you something. I have this old item in my attic. How much could I get for it?”

I get questions like this all the time. People pretty much assume that, since I write decent columns about local history, I’m the expert in everything. Now, I do know Clinton County’s history fairly thoroughly. But that doesn’t mean I can price an item.

Short answer: I’m not trained or qualified for that. What these people actually want is a licensed appraiser, and I’m not one. I can sometimes identify an item (I can tell a lumber stamp from a stagecoach trunk, for instance) and I can sometimes put a rough age estimate on an item. But I can’t price it, and I’m not allowed to even try.

I don’t network much, but I suspect this is an issue a lot of history professionals face. Television makes it look like someone who is knowledgeable in an area can do everything, but one thing I can’t do is price an item. That doesn’t stop people from getting pretty persistent, however.

“Well, could you put it in a range? What’s the highest or lowest I could get?”

Nope, can’t do that, either. Again, not allowed, not if I want to remain reputable in the history field. And also, I’m not even close to qualified. What I can do is recommend that you talk to an appraiser.

“Well, I won’t tell anyone. Your opinion matters to me.”

What we’re talking about isn’t just my opinion. I can’t even guess—I guess too high and you won’t be able to sell the item. Too low and you could lose out on money. And I’m not even able to figure out which I’m most likely to be guessing.

“Okay, then, how much would you pay for it? If you were going to buy it, what would you pay?”

How much I would pay is irrelevant. First off, I got a kid to feed, so I’m not likely to be buying excess stuff. I buy my footwear from the five-dollar discount rack. You don’t want me, you want an appraiser.
(For the record, these are all real questions I have been asked. Repeatedly.)

“How about we look it up on Ebay? Let’s see what people are charging for similar items there.”

If you want to do that, fine, that’s on you. I can’t personally endorse this plan, or look it up for you. Remember how I said that I’m not a qualified appraiser? Guess what? Just about everyone posting on Ebay is also not a qualified appraiser. When you see those prices, that’s just what some random schmuck thinks he can get for his item. It doesn’t have any meaning.

“Then what should I do? I really want to sell this thing.”

Now we’re getting someplace. Talk to an appraiser. You can find them in the phone book, or more likely by doing a search of your area online. I just now, writing this, did a quick search and found three appraisers within a five-mile radius of home.

I usually suggest that people find an appraiser who will do it for a flat fee, and not one who will also sell the item for a cut. A lot of the time, if their profit is dependent on selling the item, they can lowball you to maximize their profit. Don’t get me wrong, not all of these guys will do that, but some will, and why take the chance?

Generally, at this point in the conversation, the asker realizes I’m going to stick to my guns. It dawns on them that they’re not going to get a price out of me, and they wander off, muttering something like, ”Thanks anyway.”

Hey, no problem. Anytime.